So we moved into a new house this spring. The main heat is baseboard from an oil burning boiler. However, there's also a wood stove in the living room for burning firewood. It has something that I haven't really seen before - a panel all around the wood stove that blocks off the "fireplace" area that the wood stove sits in. Does it help to have that back half of the wood stove cut off from the room? It would seem like, to me, heat would escape into that area and be trapped. However, I'd like at least one sound second opinion before I start tearing it apart!
Thanks!